Broken Ties
by Mei Lang
Summary: After a violent wake up call, Carly learns to stand on her own...without Sonny and Jason. But when she forcibly removes herself from their lives, they begin to struggle with themselves.
1. Default Chapter

"Corinthos." Sonny's impatient voice drowned out in Jason's ears. They had been searching for Sam for about three days now, and both were becoming increasingly frustrated and worried. Thinking that it was for the best, she had run off once more.  
  
In his mind, Jason did not really know what to make out of his relationship with Sam. He didn't love her, he was sure of that, but yet he couldn't shake off the sense of protectiveness that he felt towards her. Her affair with Sonny dealt a blow to his life because he never truly thought that he would like anyone who dared placed an obstacle between Carly and Sonny.  
  
'Carly...' The last time he spoke with her was harshly. She just didn't understand sometimes, always putting her foot in her mouth and saying the wrong things at the wrong time. Lately, he'd been even more agitated with her. She had accused him of siding with Sam over her, and in actuality, he was. The concept, however, was so foreign. He had always been on Carly's side no matter what. He could understand how it must have hurt her. But she just needed time to cool down. Everything would be fine then.  
  
He was brought back into reality by Sonny's curt, angry words. "Find out where she is." Flipping his cell back together he met Jason's emotionless eyes. "Something's happened to Carly."

* * *

Courtney shook violently. She felt cold and tears streamed down her cheeks. "Jax, please...please tell me she'll be okay..." She was pleading with him, but she knew that he couldn't answer her truthfully. It was beyond his power. Letting herself be wrapped in his arms, she sobbed into his chest, drenching his collared shirt with salty tears.  
  
Jax, himself, was shaking. He held Courtney tightly and closed his eyes trying to rid himself of the image that had plagued them ever since they had found Carly. Beaten, bloody...his mind spun. Clenching his teeth, he could only hold Courtney tighter, praying that Carly would be all right.  
  
"Excuse me?" Monica Quatermaine stepped through the two double doors that Carly had been wheeled into. Keeping herself from trembling, she fought to remain professional and strong. "Carly's going to be all right..." she looked into two hopeful expressions, "...physically. But mentally..." Shaking her head, she looked at Courtney. "You can see her...if you'd like."  
  
"Carly?" Courtney's voice flitted across the small hospital room. Everything was stark white. Everything was quite. Carly laid in a small bed in the middle of the room, unmoving....broken. She was curled on her side, staring at the night sky through the window to her left. Her eyes were opened, but Courtney swore she didn't see anything. Hesitantly glancing at Jax, who nodded in reassurance, Courtney tried again. "Carly?...It's me, Court."  
  
Again, being unanswered, Courtney crossed her way to Carly's bed and knelt down a bit to meet Carly's eyes; eyes that were dead, flickering with nothing. Touching Carly's hand, she had to fight the instinctive flinch she would have portrayed due to the coldness of Carly's hand.  
  
"Carly? Can you hear me?" Courtney held her breath...and her tears. Her best friend lied in front of her like a broken porcelain doll.  
  
"Sonny..." Carly's voice was barely audible. But in whispers she continued, "I need Sonny..." Choking sobs escaped her chapped, cut lips.  
  
Courtney couldn't hold them any longer. The floodgates opened and tears began falling down her skin once again. She could no longer be strong. Not when this happened. "Sonny will be here soon, okay?" Forcing an uneven smile on her face, she held Carly's hand tighter. "He'll be here real soon."  
  
"Where..."  
  
Holding back the scream she wanted to unleash, she shivered a bit before answering. "He and Jason had to go somewhere. But don't--"  
  
"You mean to find Sam." Carly's voice took a surprising upheaval of strength...but it was done with bitterness.  
  
Speechless, Courtney couldn't lie to her friend. "Carly..."  
  
"You should rest." Jax's voice interrupted the two's conversation. He stepped forward after letting them talk amongst themselves. "You've been hurt...you need to try to regain your strength..."  
  
He looked at her, a woman who he had been friends with, only to have that friendship blemished by Corinthos. Always holding his admiration, Jax never thought ill of Carly, even when they had exchanged nasty words. She was strong-willed, temperamental, and undeniably loyal. And seeing her like...this, looking as if she had been broken beyond repair...it was almost too much. But he had Courtney here, and he had to be as composed as he could.  
  
Going to stand by Courtney's side, he placed an arm around her and met Carly's gaze for the first time. And just like that, it happened...everything changed. For the first time in her life, Jasper Jax was the man giving her strength...not Sonny...not even Jason. Jax was here, lending her iron strength that Courtney couldn't give her.  
  
She accepted it...and let the darkness envelope her.

* * *

Her eyes shot open. But she still only saw darkness. Struggling to sit up, she winced from the aching of her body. Placing the palm of her hands against the cool sheets, she slid her legs off the bed. As she blinked back the tears that threatened to once again fall, she settled her weight onto her feet and felt the coldness of the tile flooring. Wrapping the bed sheet around her, she took hesitant steps towards the window. She closed her eyes and tried to remember what had happened...but failed. Shaking her head, she watched the darkness. It was nothing, yet everything.  
  
Sonny wasn't here. He was with Sam, looking for Sam. Her heart ached, and she clutched the bed sheet tighter around her body. She was shivering. She loved him so much. But the pain just kept coming and coming. He kept hurting her repeatedly...they kept hurting each other. But, regardless, she had always felt that he still loved her, that he'd be there for her whenever she needed him. But she never, ever, needed him more than she did now...and he wasn't here. He was too busy looking for someone else.  
  
She leaned against the cool glass of the window, unable to support herself.  
  
And Jason. Closing her eyes painfully, she recalled their last argument. She had been so sure...so 'sure' that Jason would always protect her. But she wasn't so sure anymore...in fact, she could surely say that she was no longer of importance to him. He had lied to her...._lied _to her. She couldn't believe that he had lied to her about being the father of Sam's baby. Her heart raced. They had been through so much together; had loved each other, cared for each other. And now, she realized, her relationship with Jason was just like her relationship with Sonny.  
  
She loved, but who actually loved her back?  
  
Things began to get fuzzy. The room began to spin. She was falling.

* * *

"Move out of my way." Sonny's voice was deadly and uneven. Staring straight into Jax's eyes, he fought against the need to strike out. His men were unable to obtain any details about what had happened to Carly, other than the fact that she had been admitted into General Hospital under crucial conditions. The urge to rush back home was so great, but his mind won out in the end, and he ordered Jason to keep on the search to find Sam. Remembering Carly's scheming, manipulating ways, he refused to let her have the pleasure of distracting him from what needed to be done. Nevertheless, he just couldn't ignore it. If Carly was hurt, then he would be there. But standing in front of Jax made him realize that this wasn't one of Carly's manipulative plans. Fear began to grip him by the heart.  
  
Jax seethed. "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time, Corinthos." Clenching his fist, he took a step forward. "You're not allowed in."  
  
Looking Jax straight in the eye, Sonny's face became as dark and thunderous as anyone could have imagined. "No one," he enunciated vehemently, "_no one,_ keeps me away from my wife."  
  
"Hey, hey!" Bodily broken apart, Jason ignored Jax's presence and pushed Sonny back. "What's going on Sonny?"  
  
Shaking with fury, Sonny struggled for control. He pointed to the doorway that Jax blocked. "Carly's in there. Hurt. I'm going to see my wife." Moving around Jason, he stopped in front of Jax once more. "I'm going to tell you again." His eyes clashed with his blonde counterpart. "Move out of my way, or I'll move you myself."  
  
Jax's voice dropped cold. "Carly doesn't want to see you Corinthos." Switching his gaze to meet Jason's unreadable expression, he finished off, "neither of you."

* * *

Hi! This is my first GH fanfic, and I hope that you guys like it. Please give me feedback, it's much appreciated. I am definitely a S&C fan, but I have to tell you, I really don't like Sonny all that much. This story just started developing in my head because I'm really upset about the way not only Sonny (because I'm not really surprised about him), but also Jason, seems to be abandoning Carly. So yeah, please review me. If the comments are good, I'll have another chapter up in no time! ( 


	2. Chapter 2

"Jax." Courtney appeared at the doorway. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, she felt so drained. It was so heartbreaking to be in Carly's presence; she wanted to make everything better, but Carly simple answered when spoken to and never more. Of course, she couldn't blame her, but she had an eerily unpleasant feeling that Carly's silence went much beyond what had happened the previous night. And now, she was looking and her brother, who seemed beyond angry. And she was angry too. She was angry that he hadn't been there when Carly needed him. She was angry that her best friend was put in the hospital, and the one thing...the one thing that she wanted couldn't be given to her. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself that Carly didn't need to be put through anything else, so she pushed her anger aside.  
  
Looking her brother in the eye, seeing his heated frustration appeased her a bit...but not enough. "Carly's hurt. She's in a fragile state," she closed her eyes, darkly humoring herself about referring to Carly as fragile, "Just....just please, calm down before you see her okay?" Sparing a glance at Jason, who surprisingly displayed more than a flicker of concern in his eyes, she turned away, refusing to relive through any pointless longings.  
  
Pushing the door open slowly and soundlessly, Courtney bit down on her bottom lip again in an effort to hold back the pained sound she always unleashed when freshly gazing upon Carly's form. Again, Carly was curled to her side, clutching the bed sheet close to her lithe body. Her blank eyes, stared unseeingly at the window. Courtney thought that Carly chose the window because she'd think others would figure she was looking at the scenery...but Courtney knew that Carly didn't really see anything; her mind was thousands of miles away. She still couldn't move much, but once she had eaten she felt a bit of her strength regain. The only conversation that passed between the two of them this morning was queries about Michael and Morgan...she didn't ask about Sonny again. And Courtney, for one, had been glad about that. But now, he was here...and she didn't know quite what to expect.  
  
"Carly?" She wasn't surprised to receive no acknowledgement. "Carly, Sonny and Jason are here..."

* * *

Sonny was paralyzed. He couldn't believe what his eyes saw, he refused to believe them. Anger erupted in his soul, dark, black anger. Nevertheless, he swallowed it, and fought to will it away...temporarily. Looking at Courtney and Jason, he gave then a nod, indicating that he wanted to be left alone. He stared at the bed while Courtney, after internally struggling with the idea walked quietly out. Jason, on the other hand, seemed struck to the core. But Sonny made no move to do anything until he left...and so he did...in utter disbelief and cold, building rage.

* * *

"Jason!"  
  
Broken away from his intense thoughts, Jason looked up to see Sam. He had left her downstairs, alone, having to check on the situation himself. Shaking his head, he spoke slowly, "You should have stayed downstairs."  
  
Giving him a measuring look, Sam recalled how frustrated she became on the first floor, left with nothing to do but wait. "Is Carly-"  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Courtney's voice whipped. She couldn't _believe_ this. How _dare_ she come here. She stood straight, her eyes flashing dangerously. "I don't know what you think you're doing here, but I do know that you're leaving right now." She took a step towards Sam.  
  
"Jason brought me here," Sam countered defensively; "I wanted to know how Carly's doing!"  
  
"You disgusting bi-" Seeing red, Courtney couldn't stomach Sam's presence any longer. There was no way in hell she'd let Sam in Carly's eyesight.  
  
"Hey!" Grabbing Sam's elbow, Jason gave Courtney a pointed look. He had so many damn thoughts running through his head, and he couldn't get them straightened out and he all he knew was that he didn't need _this_. But Courtney's incredulous look silenced him.  
  
Courtney couldn't believe it. He was actually _defending _Sam. His supposed best friend was lying in a hospital bed, beaten...and he didn't even....she shook her head. It was a wasted effort. She wouldn't go through this because she knew that, inevitably, she would yell and scream, while Jason stood impassively, making her seem dam unreasonable. Feeling a hand on the small of her back, she turned to find Jax, who met her gaze calmly. She felt the anger ebbing slowly away.  
  
"Why don't we talk to Monica and see when Carly can be release?" He poised it as a question, but was already leading Courtney away from Morgan and Sam. Normally, he would have reveled in the stiffening in Morgan's posture and the extra iciness in his pupils, but Jax really didn't care anymore. His thoughts were more on Carly and Courtney.

* * *

"Hey..." Speaking softly, Sonny had pulled a chair up to the side of the bed. Leaning forward a bit, he clenched his teeth at the sight of the cut about her left eye, the scab on her bottom lip, and the blue hue on her cheekbone. "Carly?"  
  
Her eyes fastened onto his. Fighting a shiver, Carly mentally braced herself for this. She had been spending the whole time lying here...thinking. Thinking about her life, about the people who made up her life. It was so sad. SHE was sad. How pathetic was she? Replaying events in her mind, she realized that she became someone who absolutely disgusted her: selfish, clingy, and spiteful. It shook her to realize that this...this PERSON was her. She had to be stronger, stronger for her children. Better. She would be better.  
  
"How are you feeling?" His eyes stared beseechingly into hers.  
  
She almost faltered. Almost. But she didn't. She refused to.  
  
Giving him a brittle smile, "Okay...I'm okay."  
  
Nodding, he swallowed. He fought the urge to take her hand, though he realized that he couldn't if he wanted to because her hands were pillowing the side of her head. "I'm going to get him, Carly." He leaned in more and spoke lower. "I'm going to find this bastard and I'm going to kill him."  
  
A part of Carly wished that she had enough good in her to tell him no, that she didn't want to hurt whoever had hurt her. But, she wasn't. She wanted whoever had done this to hurt too. So, she simply nodded in acceptance. She fought to not lose herself in the pair of intense eyes.  
  
"Do you remember him? Anything at all?" He hated to make her recall it, but he needed something to start with. He needed to make someone pay for hurting someone he...  
  
She shook her head and turned her head when the door opened unexpectedly.  
  
"Hey." Courtney and Jax entered. Carly let out a relieved breath at seeing the two. They gave her a bit of confidence and put her more on ease.  
  
Courtney crossed over to the bed, ignoring Sonny's disapproving silence. "We spoke with Monica, and she said that you can leave whenever you feel up to it..."  
  
"Whoa, hey, take it easy." Sonny helped her into a sit-up position.  
  
"I want to leave as soon as possible," Carly stated firmly, "I want to be with my kids..."  
  
"Are you sure-" Sonny stopped his questioning at Carly's stiff nod.   
  
Courtney sensed something...off...in Carly. But, regardless, she knew better than to voice it aloud now. "Sonny, Monica wanted to know if you could take care of the release forms..."  
  
"Yeah," he took another look at Carly, "Yeah, I got it...I'll be right back."  
  
Watching him leave, Carly smiled a little at Courtney and Jax, thinking that smiling was getting more difficult each time she forced it. "I should change..."  
  
"Do you need help?" Courtney sighed when Carly declined, "I'll be right outside okay?" She turned around to leave, but Carly's voice stopped her mid-step. "Courtney? Thank you..." Carly's gaze looked to Jax. "Thank you both, for...for being helping me."  
  
Courtney's eyes glistened; Jax gave a nod, "Whenever you need it Carly. Whenever you need it..."

* * *

Sonny walked swiftly to the receptionist desk, spotting Jason and Sam there already. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Sam held a breath a bit. Understandably, Sonny wasn't in a good mood and she didn't want to make matters worse. "I, uh...Jason wanted to come here, and I didn't want to make him drop me off first."  
  
Carefully nodding, Sonny nodded for Jason, then walked a good feet away from everyone else's earshot. Jason, who joined him within seconds, gave Sonny a measured look. "How's Carly?"  
  
Closing his eyes, he wanted to shun away the picture of Carly's battered face. Taking a breath that he held on to, Sonny looked around and made sure no one paid attention to the two of them. "Find him, Jason. I want whoever did this to her found." He clenched his teeth. "Bring him to me." It was an order, unyielding.  
  
An understanding silence stood between them, and Jason barely nodded his head. "I'll get him."  
  
With multiple nods, Sonny thought about what to do next. He just wanted to get Carly home, safe and secure. "I'm going to take Carly home, but I want you to leave with Sam now, okay?" He spared a glance at Sam, who was fidgeting in a lounge chair. "I don't want Carly to see her, you know? It might-it might upset her, and she doesn't need that."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Okay." Jason paused. "I want to see Carly before I leave though."

* * *

Just finishing dressing a few seconds ago, Carly tried to abstain from moving around unnecessarily…it hurt too much. She turned as she heard the door open once again, already beginning to force another smile to her face…she let it slip away.  
  
"Alcazar."

* * *

Hi! Wow, thank you to everyone who reviewed my first chapter, it really mean a lot, and definitely propelled me to hurrying into finishing the second chapter. I, honestly, don't know where I'm going with this story. I'm truly a Carly/Sonny fan, as well as a Courtney/Jason one, but I'm enjoying Courtney/Jax also. I've never liked Sam, but I've come to realize that she isn't all bad, but I still don't like her :D. Anyways, please, please review. The more reviews I get, the more I'll write, I promise. Thanks!


End file.
